Stirling cycle heat pumps for industrial heat recovery

Heat pump based on the Stirling cycle able to use wide temperature sources will enable reuse of industrial heat.

The Regents of the University of California, Merced

Recipient

Merced, CA

Recipient Location

Senate District

27th

Assembly District

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$78,599

Amount Spent

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Active

Project Status

Project Update

A comprehensive model of the system has been implemented. This model is based on an ideal thermodynamic treatment of the reversed Stirling cycle. The model is augmented with thermodynamic and kinetic analyses of the non-idealities associated with the system. Primary amongst these are viscous loss associated with the liquid pistons and incomplete heat transfer in the active volumes and regenerator. The model allows for design calculations balancing system thermal power density and coefficient of performance.
A prototype system is under construction.

The Issue

There are three primary challenges limiting heat pump usage in industrial heat recovery:
(1) Current heat pumps are unable to provide heat at temperatures necessary for many industrial applications.
(2) The efficiency of high temperature heat pumps is too low to justify their implementation in many industrial contexts.
(3) Finally, the high capital cost of heat pumps makes them noncompetitive with traditional heating sources.

Project Innovation

The Recipient is developing a novel Stirling cycle with liquid piston technology that: alleviates temperature limits imposed by refrigerants experiencing phase change, improves heat transfer performance, and reduces construction complexity and cost.

Project Goals

Increase temperature of heat available from heat pumps.
Improve efficiency of high temperature heat pumps.
Reduce capital and operating costs of high temperature heat pumps compared to currently available technology.

Project Benefits

This project could result in improvements to industrial heat pump efficiency based on the implementation of Stirling cycles and liquid piston technology. The use of industrial heat pumps for heat recovery will reduce energy usage for heating, resulting in the ratepayer benefits of reduced greenhouse gas emissions and reduced energy consumption.

Lower Costs

Affordability

This project will implement liquid pistons to simplify construction and reduce the cost of industrial heat pumps useful for waste heat recovery. It has the potential to lower capital and operational costs by 20 percent.

Environmental & Public Health

Environmental Sustainability

This project is developing high temperature heat pump technology that can replace natural gas fired industrial heating processes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Key Project Members

Project Member

James Palko

Associate Professor
University of California, Merced

Match Partners

Rocket

The Regents of the University of California, Merced

Rocket

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